Everblazing.

Prologue.

"Revan, the prodigal knight!" Master Vandar declared, waiting a few minutes to let the saviors of the Republic bask in their glory before stepping aside for Revan to come forward and make a speech. Revan nervously complied, running a hand through his long, brown hair and stepping towards the railing.

He could sense Juhani's small smile and the huge grins of Carth, Canderous and Jolee and he could feel Bastila's pride and at the same time her worry, her inner musings on the events that had occured on the Star Forge, and her own fall to the Dark Side. He wanted nothing more than to just gather round a table in the Ebon Hawk and drink some highly intoxicating drink with them all, or to hug each of them, especially Bastila. But there was a crowd down below, waiting for him to make a speech.

And Master Vandar would probably lecture him on something or other if he didn't. Suddenly taking over the universe seemed like a surprisingly appealing thing to do.

"Eh ... I must admit, I haven't got anything prepared but -." He stopped abruptly and looked upwards.

One by one, the Jedi and soldiers of the Republic looked upwards, their eyes drawn by the loud humming.
"Sith Fighters!" Admiral Dodonna roared just a moment too late. Bolts of crimson light crashed down into the crowd, scattering the soldiers there with a fiery flash. Bright lances of light blazed towards the gathered people on the temple.
"Into the temple, quickly!" Revan cried, gesturing them all inside. They all dashed in as the bolts struck, crumbling the entrance and killing dozens of Jedi and soldiers.

"Right, who's here?" Admiral Dodonna asked in the darkness. A few voices replied, showing that Jolee, Juhani, Carh, Bastila and the rest of the Ebon Hawk's crew had all arrived safely, as well as two Republic soldiers and of course, Dodoona, had followed Revan inside.
"Where's Master Vandar?" Bastila asked frantically.
"He must have been too slow to get out. We can mourn him later. Let's go." Revan was shocked at how cold his words sounded, but the rest didn't seem to notice. With a snap-hiss he ignited his pale blue lightsaber, illuminating a small portion of the room.
"This isn't going to give off enough light to guide us all." He groaned.
"Hold on, I have a torch somewhere in here." Carth started rummaging around on his belt, eventually lighting up a small torch.
"How handy." Revan heard Jolee say from next to him.

They made their way down through the temple, finally reaching the door where Carth abruptly stopped, stepping backwards. The Jedi of the group filed in front of them, lightsabers at the ready and opened the door, stepping out and breathing in the fresh air.

Revan was hardly surprised by what he saw.

At least several dozen Sith, twenty of which had gathered round the entrance to the Temple in a semi-circle were positioned around the courtyard. Floating up in the sky were a fair few Sith mounted on rather strange semicircular contraptions, with noticable guns on the frount. A Dark Jedi watched them intently, his reflective armour almost glowing in the sunlight, along with his shaved head.

"Caught in a trap. Hagel will be most pleased," The Dark Jedi chuckled. "Kill them all, except him, him, her and her." He gestured briefly to Revan, Carth, Bastila and Dodonna. There was an immediate crackle as four lightsabers ignited. The Sith Troopers started firing, their guns spitting out blasts of fire at an extraordinary rate. Above them, those on the flying contraption aimed their guns and fired. The Jedi seperated, pulling themselves round to defend their companions at all sides.

Sith Troopers fell in their masses, dropping down as the blaster bolts were reflected back into their chests, or else felled by the weapons of the non-Jedi. Out of the corner of his eye, Revan saw the Dark Jedi ignite his lightsaber and lunge, swinging it round and crashing into Revan's. More Sith Troopers were hurrying towards them and Revan knew there were too many. He leapt off the ground, cartwheeling in the air and swinging his lightsaber. The Dark Jedi barely blocked it and staggered backwards against the onslaught.

Revan could hear voices, familier voices. He clutched his head and staggered backwards, an unbearable pain pounding through his skull.

"I don't agree with this Revan."

"We have no choice."

"The Jedi will exile us, for sure."

"Then we are exiled."


The Dark Jedi struggled up and stepped towards Revan, who lay writhing on the ground. Clutching his head, froth rising from his mouth and a large stain growing on the front of his trousers as he lost all control.

"I'll ask you one last time, Revan, is this truly necessary?"

"The Ancient Jedi sealed this chamber!"

"Is the power of the Star Forge truly worth the risk?"

"The Star Map, it's beautiful!"


Jolee and Bastila crouched down by Revan as he let out a screech.
"What's happening to him?" Jolee snapped at Bastila.
"I ... don't know ..." She replied. "I don't feel his emotions." The Dark Jedi grinned wolfishly and advanced on them.

"For Rakata!" A hundred voices cried. An arrow impaled itself upon the Dark Jedi's head and dozens of Rakatans came charging into the courtyard, plowing into the unprepared Sith forces. An Elder stopped by them, his eyes blazing excitedly.
"Take him to your ship! We shall hold the invaders off!" He stabbed out with a Rakatan Battle Wand, shocking a Sith Trooper to death.

Canderous picked up Revan.
"Come on, we need to get off this damned planet, even if we did manage to defeat all these Sith, they would just blast the planet to smithereens from space." He grunted. The rest of the group nodded.

HK fired a blast of flame, scattering the nearby Sith Troopers. With that they turned and fled, throwing a few grenades over their shoulders. Revan squirmed in Canderous's arms and muttered to himself.
"Exiled ..." He murmered, tossing his head this way and that. They skidded round the natural path and to the beach, where the Sith were systematically blasting each of the ships to smithereens. So far the Ebon Hawk had endured the blasts from the Troopers cannons pretty well, but it's hull was buckling noticably under the stress.

"We don't have time for this!" Bastila snarled and cursed, eliciting a surprised and somewhat disaproving look from Juhani. A haze spread through the air and the Sith went flying, hitting the rocks with dull thuds. The group hurried down.
"I'll make my way to my own shuttle, good luck." Admiral Dodonna told them breathlessly, turning and leaving with the two rebel soldiers following.

The Sith leapt to their feet.

A rocket shot towards the ship.

Carth raised his blaster and fired. The missile exploded merely metres away from them. The port closed and the ship rose into the sky, it's deflector shields activating with a resounding buzz. With a low hum it blazed off into the sky.

Canderous lay Revan down on the bed in the medical wing (if it could be called a wing, the room was tiny), gripping the wall as the ship shook.
"Better get us out of here Carth, before those fighters finish the job the Troopers started." He yelled. Jolee raised a syringe of a blue liquid and injected it into Revan's neck, easing his struggling.
"That should keep him stable for now. Or at least I hope it will, I've never seen anything like this before." He shook his head and sat down by the bed, watching the former Dark Lord scrutinously as the Ebon Hawk hit hyperspace.

"Tatooine. You know Malak, I never liked Tatooine, too warm, too dry. I like water, myself, or at least healthy trees." Revan chattered cheerfully.
"I find Czerka corporation far more objectionable. Typical capitalists." Malak grumbled. Revan nodded inwardly.
"Let's see, where's this contact we're supposed to be meeting? The canteen wasn't it? Yes, the cantina."

"I bet he'll be drunk when we find him." Malak hissed.
"Well, that's good then. On this planet, anything with a lot of liquid inside it is my friend. That and anybody who gets rid of sand."

They entered the cantina, noticing their contact immediatly.

Sure enough, he was drunk.

"Hey hey!" The contact cried, slapping Revan on the back. The Dark Lord of the Sith gave him a cold stare.
"Let's get immediatly to the point. Where's the artifact?" Revan said blankly.
"Well, what ya gonna pay me?" The drunkard hiccuped slightly.
"I'll tell you -" Malak was stopped dead by Revan's raised hand.
"You're clearly drunk, my friend, let me help you, get some of that alchohol out of you." Revan didn't move a muscle, but the man started clutching at his throat and choking, vomiting up some revolting looking drink mixed in with the contents of his lunch.

"I trust you're sober now?" Revan asked calmly. The man gagged a vague reply.
"I can't say I heard that." Revan admitted.
"So ..." The man choked. " ... ber." The tension on his throat eased and he took several deep breaths.
"Now, where is the artifact?" Malak growled.
"I don't know, but I know that the Sand People know. That's all I can tell you."

"So ... you lied to us," Revan sighed. "I'm not fond of liars. And you know what? Liars are rarely ever sober. It's a proven fact. Which is why I think we need to get some more drink out of you." The man didn't have a chance to respond as the insides of his throat began to collapse. The Dark Lord and his apprentice arose from their seats and stalked away, leaving the drunkard to die.

Darkness. Stars. Smoke. Steel. Crone. Fire. Angel.


"He's shown no sign of stirring for days, he might as well be in a coma ..." Jolee sighed.
"The fuel tanks are ruptured, we barely have enough to make it to Coruscant. It's going to cost a fortune to get it refilled and fixed." Carth muttered.
"No. The Jedi Council will pay for that, as a favour, I'm certain of it." Juhani interjected.
"That's not the main issue," Bastila growled. "Revan's shown no sign of waking up, he's having convulsions every few days, there's something seriously wrong with him ... And I can't sense him, it's like our connection has been severed."

"Well, can't we like, find some good doctors on Coruscant? There's surely something they can do." Mission suggested. Juhani shook her head.
"No. It is not a doctor he needs."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm awake."

Seven heads and one droid turned to stare at the passageway. Revan stood there, leaning on the wall, dressed simply in his brown undershirt and brown trousers. They just stared at him stunned, till eventually Mission broke the uncomfortable silence.
"You look terrible."

"Mission!" Zaalbar scolded.
"What? He does!" She was right. The colour had drained from Revan's face, leaving him with a sickly pallor and he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Good to see you up." Carth grinned.
"Agreed. I am glad to see you awake." Juhani smiled softly. Revan watched Bastila tentatively, she was silent, looking down at the ground and Jolee was by her, giving both Revan and her concerned glances.
"Where are we heading?" Revan inquired coldly.
"Coruscant, it seems like the natural place to go." Carth replied. Revan shook his head and wobbled slightly.
"No. We need to change course."
"What?" Carth practically shrieked. "We're low on fuel, we can only keep going for a good day longer. Unless you mean to go somewhere very close to Coruscant, then we're stuck."

Revan turned and staggered down towards the cockpit, glancing at the galaxy map.
"There, Talasea, it's a small planet. Very near too," He told Carth. "We can repair and refuel there. But there's some things I need to do before I meet with the Jedi Council, some things I need to follow. You're all welcome to jump ship and go to Coruscant when we get to Talasea, but I can't go."

"Well. I'll stay with you at least, kiddo, who knows what trouble you'll get into without me there." Jolee said gruffly.
"Statement: I am ready to follow and serve you, Master, and more than willing to ... silence ... anybody that might betray you." Revan smiled faintly at HK.
"I swore a life debt to you and I intend to honour it, wherever you go." Zaalbar pledged.

"I wish to go to the Jedi Council," Juhani said clearly. Revan's heart inwardly plummeted. "But there will be time for that, later. I will go with you."

One by one, they agreed to follow Revan, until only Carth and Bastila were left.
"I'm not certain about this, but I've learned to trust you. Who knows? We could end up saving the galaxy again." Carth chuckled, climbing into the pilot's seat and punching in the coordinates.

Bastila silently turned and left, sweeping away to the dormitories. Revan moved after her slowly, relying on the wall for support.
"Stay here, kiddo," Jolee grunted to Mission as she attempted to follow. "They have things to sort out."

Dodonna struggled through the corridors of the Owl's Talon, dragging her injured leg behind her.
"Evacuate! Everybody to the escape pods!" Soldiers flooded through the hallways, bustling past each other to reach the pods. The ship shuddered and then ...

They were dead.

Every single one of them flew, spiralling into the walls with a sickening splat, clearing the way to Dodonna to stare down in absolute horror at their killer.

It was confusing to look at him. Half his face was painted jet black and the other half white. Black hair tumbled down from the white side of his face, along with an unblinking black eye staring out of it, as opposed to silver-white hair on the black side and a white eye. Even his lips were black and white, black on the white side and white on the black. He wore dark fibre armour, similar to Darth Bandon's, and a black cloak, trimmed with silver, was draped around him and held by an ornate ruby brooch.

"Admiral Dodonna! Such a pleasant surprise! I must say I enjoyed the little game of hide and seek, but I don't think Hagel was too pleased. Now, I have to ask you something, something which I doubt you'll answer at first."

"Where's Revan?" He finished. Admiral Dodonna shook her head and spat on the ground silently.
"Dear, dear. That won't do." Dodonna went spiralling backwards, hitting a wall with a crash and staying there, pinned by the force flowing from one black painted hand.

"I'll ask you again. Where's Revan?" Dodonna shook her head.
"I don't know." The strange man sighed deeply.
"Alright then, Dodonna, we'll try something else. What's the Ebon Hawk's communication frequency?" Dodonna groaned a soft refusal. The strange man tightened the force grip, causing her to wriggle.
"Come on, you can tell me?" She cracked and blurted it out to him, paying no attention to the wide grin on his face.

The man let her go, watching her sink to the ground and ... changing ...

His hair turned brown, his skin changed from painted to pink with rosy cheeks, even his clothes transformed into a Republic's Admiral uniform.

Dodonna looked up at an identical copy of herself.
"Now, my friend, I have all the information I need." A red blade appeared above her head and moved swiftly down towards her.